There and Back Again
by Snowy Fox
Summary: When Ashlin forces Torn to send Jak on a dangerous mission, Jak and Daxter get trapped out in the Wasteland! They meet new people, places and, with their help, find a way to return to the city and get revenge!


There and Back Again  
By, Snowy Fox  
Chapter One: Trapped!  
Snowy Fox: Hello! Whoa, I haven't attempted a fic for awhile. My last,  
called 'Jak and Daxter: The Dark One' has been postponed until I get it  
fixed if you've read it. In case you wondering, I've been spending the last  
few weeks reading and reviewing a lot of stories on ff.net and I've finally  
used my brain and got some ideas together. By the way, I wrote this from  
Jak's POV. Don't like it, don't read it. Oh, one more thing! This fic takes  
place right in the middle of Jak2!  
Anyway, this is officially dedicated to DarkerSideofTheMoon for being such  
a great friend to me. Thanks! ^_^  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Naughty Dog owns just about  
everything except maybe for the plot. But I may even own stuff you don't  
recognize!  
On with the story...  
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I flew through the darkening alleys, winding my way around street  
corners, dodging guards and citizens every now and then on my JET-Board  
causing me to receive fading shouts of, 'Watch it!' and 'Move it!' from  
several pedestrians heading home from a long day of work. The orange fuzz  
sitting-err, hanging-on my shoulder plate screaming every once in awhile  
things like, 'Jak! Watch out for that guard!' and 'SLOW DOWN JAK!!!' dug  
his claws deep into my blue tunic as his furry tail whipped around my head  
in the wind. My mind wandered absently as I leapt off my JET-Board and  
landed nimbly on the torn ground of the Slums thinking only of my main  
mission-'get my ass to the underground'. Torn had said it himself and the  
words reverberated over and over in my head causing a nervous feeling to  
rise in my gut. Memories eased they're way back into my thoughts and before  
I knew it I was engulfed in a flashback of the day. My last mission.  
"We've done what you've asked Krew. Now give us what we want." I  
hissed angrily stomping into the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon soaking wet and  
giving off an odor much like that of Krew's lunch.  
"What did the cat bring in mmmh?" mumbled Krew from a corner of the room.  
Anger rose in my gut and I felt like blasting the sagging pile of dirt to  
pieces-as I very well could. I started to reach for my Blaster when I was  
interrupted by a loud, almost annoying voice piercing through my ear.  
"Look Tons-of-Fun! We do YOUR dirty work in the sewers and come back  
smelling worse than your breath at an oyster fest! WE DEMAND TH-wait, what  
do we demand again Jak?"  
I rolled my eyes at his antics and eased my hand away from the gun. Giving  
a faint smile to Daxter I turned to Krew with the hard, cold gaze I rarely  
used.  
"We found the Ruby Key for you. Now, tell us where that Seal of the House  
of Mar is or your be facing more trouble than your already in." I  
whispered, tossing the glowing, golden key in the direction of the 'whir'  
of the fat mans hover chair. The day was going bad enough and I didn't need  
this man-if you could even call him a man-telling me what to do.  
"Well, the prices of artifacts of Mar have been rocketing in the  
markets recently and such information could send those historians marching  
off to the site ready to blow the place to rubble if it got into the wrong  
hands, mmmh? Any artifact worth having comes through MY hands. And such a  
find could bring this bar up to back what it used to be, mmh?"  
Every last bit of the calmness inside me exploded and turned into a  
smoldering pile of burning, red hot anger as he said this.  
"Krew..." I whispered devilishly. "I'll repeat myself one time and one time  
only." I paused as everything I said went through my mind. Something in  
Krew's mind must have ignited as he slowly turned his head towards me with  
a questioning grin plastered across his sagging face. "Hand over the  
location of that Seal or you'll be facing much more trouble than you're  
already in." I hissed at a whisper barley audible through the howling wind  
outside. The lights of the Bar dimmed and only the glowing bar table left  
any sign of light in the room.  
"Jak, you're in more trouble than you think. What with taking down so many  
Guards and Krizmon Cruiser's in this city you're probably the most wanted  
man in town, mmmh?"  
"And you aren't?" I chuckled threateningly as I tightened the grip of my  
gun.  
"Oh of course not. I've scheduled a little 'get together' with some of my  
'contacts'."  
I watched in shock as Sig, trailed by many other muscular men walked slowly  
into the room, clutching Shock Rifles to their chests, laser beads resting  
on Jak's heart.  
"AHH! No! I'm too young to be Hip Hog chow! I've never even ridden a zoomer  
before! Except for that one time in the class two race! Wait! Why am I  
talking about races at a time like this!? I've never even had my first  
kiss!"  
I wanted to laugh at Daxter's stupidity. It was hard to believe he had  
never had a kiss before. What with all the flirting he did. But it was  
tough to laugh at a time like this.  
"Time to die my boy."  
Sig and his collogues tightened their fingers on the trigger and time  
seemed to slow down to me.  
I reached behind my back for my gun-already loaded from my argument with  
Krew. Before I could even lay a fingertip on the trigger brilliantly  
colored beams of red, gold, blue and green fluttered through the air and I  
fell backwards onto the hard, cold wooden floor of the bar. I tried to get  
up but pain seared through my side and I slowly realized the impact it had.  
My chest was smoldering clump of glowing yellow particles of raw power and  
it was slowly draining the energy from me. Darkness brimmed on the edges of  
my sight and my eyelids became heavy.  
The familiar 'whir' of Krew's hoverchair barley pierced my ears.  
"Sig, take care of this, mmmh?" Krew mumbled to a man behind him who must  
have been the leader by the sound of it.  
I opened my eyes but shut them quickly as the bright, crimson flash of a  
laser bead filled my sight.  
"Oh-no, no, no , no, NO! Jak can't die! No! Come on Jak, do some of that  
tall, dark and gruesome stuff on them!" Daxter cheered from the other side  
of the room.  
I groaned. I knew this was it. I would die, right here in the middle of a  
bar. These thoughts raced through my mind and I made a decision.  
"No." I snapped at the man named Sig.  
"Shut up Cherries! You've got no choice in the matter." The man shouted  
angrily at me and grabbed me roughly by the collar.  
Anger rose inside me. I knew it was time. Time to unleash the untold power  
inside me. That is...if I wanted to live.  
"No!" I repeated once again much louder and springing from my feet.  
At this point the glowing yellow particles seemed to dissipate and were  
replaced by a shadow. A dark shadow giving off the impression of hatred and  
death. My mind gave way to my feelings and my vision was blurred by an evil  
and somewhat comforting darkness. I felt powerful. Like I could take on the  
world. And I could. But first I would start with these men. Leaping up from  
the stone I let off a bolt of raw energy from my pure white fingers,  
hovering the men up into the air and choking them with my newfound dark  
power. Glowing bullets were fired at the demon I had become but were  
repelled from the darkness. One or two hit me in the sides but it was  
nothing that couldn't be helped later on. Bolts of electricity shot through  
the room, destroying much in the process. Some of the men had still  
survived and Krew had hidden behind the bar-what a foolish thing to do, I  
thought. Almost by instinct, I flew through the air, rushing downwards with  
my first aimed in the middle of the ground of men. More shots were fired at  
me and I felt my energy being drained but I kept moving. My fist smashed  
into the floor and dark eco rippled through the floor like waves, throwing  
the men into the air and ripping the bar to pieces. "Time to get out." I  
said and Daxter hopped back onto my shoulder as I ran out of the bar  
towards the rising sun. Sprinting into South Town my 'Personal  
Communication Computer'- or PCC as Vin had called it-went off with an ear  
splitting beeping noise and Torn's voice filled the air around me.  
"Jak, get your ass to the Undergorund! We have something to discuss." I  
sighed and took out my JET-Board, speeding off to the Slums with my mission  
in mind.  
  
"Jak? Jak! Jak, wake up already!" Daxter's voice came pouring into my mind.  
My eyes fluttered open and I turned to look for the source of all the  
noise.  
"Dax? What-?" I started, confused.  
"Jaaaak, you've been standing here for almost a minute! We need to get to  
the hideout, remember?"  
My mind went into backup mode...  
Krew, The Ruby Key, Sig, gun shots, Dark Jak...  
"Dark Jak..." I whispered to nobody in particular.  
"Yeesh! Don't bring that up again! Remember what ya did to the Hip Hog?"  
My eyes flashed to the flaming inferno racing through the bar and I gave  
Daxter a piercing glare, hushing him at once. Sitting up, I realized it was  
getting late and being late to Torn is really not something you want to  
experience more than once.  
"Let's just move Dax. We'd better not upset Torn at this hour or we'll be  
in even MORE trouble."  
Hopping back onto my JET-Board I winded my way through the dirty streets,  
dodging other pedestrians once and awhile on my way to the Hideout and  
glided swiftly over one of the many plywood boards, turning straight into  
the dead end alley and riding down the sloping stairs to Torn's desk,  
leaping off by the door. Walking through, Torn and Ashlin were discussing  
something in hushed voices. They immediately stopped when I walked in  
closer to them and Ashlin whispered one final word into Torn's ear,  
slipping away silently through the shadow's and out the metallic door still  
ajar.  
"What was that about?" I questioned harshly moving over to Torn.  
The man turned and stared at me, reaching for his beloved slanted dagger.  
"Are you questioning me?" he spat. "Look you two," sighing deeply he  
continued the words that would set Jak and Daxter's deadly fate. "We've  
located another Ammo Dump at a Krizmon Weapon's Facility just outside the  
city. It seems the Baron just doesn't know when to quit. We're sending you  
two to take it out. Head to the Power Station and take the portal there to  
the Weapon's Facility. Destroy ALL of the ammo there and return to me ASAP.  
Got that?"  
"Fin-"I was cut off by Daxter again and growing with frustration I  
continued even louder,  
"Fine Torn. But when we get back Dax and I are NOT going on another mission  
like this. We've had enough of the Baron's forces and we've had enough of  
you!" The anger was growing inside me and my vision began to get cloudy all  
over. No...not again. I couldn't let this creature out in the Underground.  
Torn took no notice of my speech and walked slowly away and into his  
office, slamming the door shut behind his fading form.  
"Let's just go." I groaned to Daxter and started my way up the stairs  
again.  
The door shutting behind me I hopped into the driver's seat of a small one  
seater zoomer and switched on the Hover Zone indicator.  
I slammed my foot onto the pedal, launching the zoomer off at high speed,  
Daxter hanging his head gleefully into the wind like a dog.  
Sighting Vin's lab I quickly lowered the zoomer down to the ground and  
almost flew off with the speed, jumping out in front of Vins lab to leave  
the forgotten zoomer crashing to its doom. I heard clicks in the door and  
it opened, revealing Vin's lab where I spotted the skinny man typing  
feverishly like no other.  
"AHHH! GET AWAY METAL HEAD!" he screeched at me.  
"Oh, it's just you Jak." Eyes moving to Daxter they widened.  
"AHH! NO! That's even worse!"  
Daxter narrowed his eyes and hopped off my shoulder, walking over to the  
frightened man.  
"HEY! Look! Just because I made a total meltdown of the city walls ONCE!  
Doesn't mean you get to insult orange lightening! Are you listening to  
me?!" he shouted Vin, who was still running away from Daxter.  
"Ahh! No! Just...get out!" Vin shouted still, to afraid to listen to Daxter's  
ramblings.  
"Dax, let's go...now." I commanded, picking up the orange fuzz and placing  
him back onto my shoulder plate.  
"Hey! No touchin' the goods Jak!" Daxter complained wiping off his fur as  
if it were contaminated with some kind of germ. (Not in the nasty way  
people! Get your mind out of the gutters!)  
I held up my hands in defeat to Daxter and ran over to the Precursor  
Portal, disappearing on impact.  
My foot came in contact with air...or was it...sand?! The portal had landed me  
in some kind of desert! Looking around I saw the land was littered with  
scattered rocks and stones along with the occasional cliff.  
"AHHHH!" came Daxter's voice. I looked up and saw he was falling from some  
sort of glowing blue cloud above us. No...the portal! It was the portal that  
took us here! Immediately I jumped up trying to touch the blue mass with  
Daxter clinging onto my feet for dear life. Now it was shrinking at a rapid  
rate and I knew it would be to no avail to attempt to jump in. I let my  
body fall to the ground and my head lie limp.  
"What was this place?" I wondered. Surely it couldn't have been the Krizmon  
Weapon's Facility.  
Daxter was thinking just the same.  
"Woah...what the heck is this place?!" he shouted and fell onto the ground  
with me.  
The scorching sun was hot enough to fry a Yakkow Steak and Dax and I were  
right in the midst of it all.  
"Heh, look Jak. Snow Angels..." Daxter called moving his limbs from side to  
side as if it were winter time.  
I felt something on my neck. I warm, somewhat rancid breath. The rapid  
breathing of whatever it was filled my ears and I decided to look up. There  
it was, towering above me, a Metal Head Grunt.  
"AHH!" Daxter called, leaping onto my shoulder and clinging onto my neck  
with such force that his claws produced bleeding cuts all over my head.  
"Easy target Dax! Just watch!" I pulled out my Blaster Gun and aimed it at  
the Grunt who repeatedly tried to slash me to death. I ran over to it and  
let out a kick, knocking the grunt back a few paces and then aimed my gun  
at the glowing gem residing on its armored head and pulled the trigger.  
Yellow sparks flew through the air and came on impact with the grunt with  
so much force that its armored plates were knocked off and landed in the  
scorching sand. Killing it instantly.  
I heard more screeches from behind me and more of that hot breath along  
with it.  
"AHH! JAK! More metal heads!" Daxter groaned and I whipped around, shooting  
like mad at the Grunts-bringing even more into the scene.  
Just when everything looked bleak for us two metal clad men ran into the  
scene and started shooting like hell at the beasts. Instead of guns it  
appeared as if they had some sort of staff. The kind of staff a metal head  
would carry along. One of them turned to me and shouted,  
"Don't worry kid! We'll hold them off! Just keep running until you see a  
red flag! Stay there, got it? Now go!"  
My mind tried to comprehend what the stranger was talking about and I just  
merely nodded and did what he said. Before I could even reach the edge of  
the fight a slanted claw ripped through my side and blood squirted in every  
direction...and then it went black.  
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Well, that's chapter one! Tell me what you think and I'll have chapter two  
up soon! More reviews means the faster it gets up! Thanks! 


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